


Like Ooh-Aah (How the Hell Did I Fall in Love?)

by Le_kunokimchi



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Bang Chan is Whipped, Bang Chan is a Good Hyung, Bang Chan-centric, Falling In Love, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, POV Bang Chan, Shy Bang Chan, Slow Burn, Soft Lee Felix (Stray Kids), Survivor Guilt, Zombie Apocalypse, because it is still the apocalypse, chan doesn't know how to zombie, dark humor at times, inspired by Ooh-Aah MV by Twice, lots of references to zombie related kpop videos, singing and dancing to cure the infected, twice and felix are the only survivors left (as far as they know), zombie bang chan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29594277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Le_kunokimchi/pseuds/Le_kunokimchi
Summary: He never saw or heard from them again. And he didn’t dare go looking for them. He had assumed that they were the only ones left; he had assumed that they all eventually died like he did and now wander the campus without a purpose, unsure of who they are or what they want.And then the humming started and everything began to change. But just to top it all off, the pretty boy with the freckles came along.~~~~~~~~~~~~“Ah man, you freaked him out Sana.”“What? But I was just-”“He’s just shy, Felix; you’ll see him again for sure if you stick with us.”“And he’s… not going to eat me?”The girls giggled and Chan felt a bizarre jolt in his chest as he heard just before leaving the building, “Definitely not; if anything, I think he likes you.”(OR the one where Chan's five second cameo as a zombie on a treadmill in Ooh-Aah inspired an entire fanfiction. Plus Chanlix!)
Relationships: Bang Chan & Everyone, Bang Chan & TWICE Ensemble, Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Lee Felix (Stray Kids) & Everyone, Stray Kids Ensemble & TWICE Ensemble
Comments: 14
Kudos: 65





	1. We’re in the Fire; Then You’ll Be Fine

**Author's Note:**

> Hello~ SO yes, this sounds pretty weird but I promise it is fluffier than it seems!  
> There are references to Ooh-Aah by Twice (obviously since I'm pretty much following the music video), Zombie by Day6, and Burn it by Golden Child (the apocalypse MV is AMAZINGGG but too angsty for this story. Maybe I'll write an angstier one some other day ;)  
> I really hope you enjoy and don't be afraid to leave some feedback!

There were only two girls at first. 

They would wander the empty campus humming obnoxiously loud. 

One had pigtails, in some cute cheerleader uniform; the other was taller and more elegant in appearance, clearly demonstrating more flexibility skills compared to her sporty subordinate. He heard them the first time while dragging himself through the cafeteria, the poppy and opportunistic tune reverberating against the all too silent walls despite the obvious danger that awaits them. 

It attracted a lot of attention at first, the undead slowly gravitating to them for an easy meal. And they appear scared, at first, but that quickly faded too as they discovered the caged off part of the rooftop where they were relatively safe as long as they remembered to lock it unlike Chan and his friends did all those months ago.

It felt like forever ago when the outbreak first started. He was in his senior year of high school: captain of the swim team, respected member of the student counselor, seminar coordinator for the exchange student program. He had just told his parents not even a week before that he would be fine, that the strange disease in America wouldn’t be  _ that  _ dramatic of an effect on his studies in Korea. He only had three months left until graduation; he would be  _ okay,  _ there was no  _ need  _ to return home to Australia. The authorities hadn’t put up any warnings. The school hadn’t said anything on the matter. The United States wasn’t even sure what was going on in their own country. Everything would be just dandy and he would finish off the semester without worry.

But then the first couple of cases started coming in; and the hospitals were filled. And then the streets and homeless shelters were filled. And people started stocking up on necessities and the media started making speculations and then the first sick student was recorded on campus. And then the neighborhoods were filled and the school was shut down but it was already too late because it takes two days for the symptoms to appear but only a few minutes to pass it to hundreds of people with each contact with the contaminated. A  _ “Oops, my bad; I should really watch where I’m going”  _ or a  _ “Hi, it’s nice to meet you”  _ or a  _ “Are you okay man? Here, lemme help you up,”  _ could mean your doom. And then they were everywhere, biting and clawing and feeding as their skin secreted the virus for anyone to absorb with a mere  _ touch  _ of their infected skin. And then the dorms were filled.

And Chan watched his world crumble as he awoke one day to his roommate screaming that  _ it was happening, that Chan needs to run before he won’t be able to control himself any longer.  _ It broke his heart to leave Changbin there to suffer with his last seconds of humanity but he needed to find the others, he needed to find them  _ now.  _

He had found Hyunjin and Minho in the dance room with a couple of freshmen, nothing but the glass door blocking the music and lights control panel between them and their once normal classmates. He had immediately taken one of the trashcans and bashed it into the mirror-covered wall on the opposite side of the room as a distraction, allowing for the five of them to run out the emergency exit. Chan had  _ tried  _ to help and save  _ all of them,  _ but when one of the freshmen fell behind from an ankle injury as the horde was closing in… he had to choose his priorities: getting himself, his friends, and the other freshman to safety or… going back to help that one person and possibly risk the safety of all the others. Thankfully the rest of the group seemed to understand his decision and if they all saw the tears that escaped Hyunjin and the other’s eyes, nobody said anything. 

Seungmin was on top of the bleachers in the gym, having abandoned his bandmates in the practice room to climb up the retracted seats. Chan had  _ almost  _ smiled at the brilliance of his friend’s plan (he always knew Seungmin could take care of himself but he still came for him because at least if something bad happened, he could say that he was there and tried his best). Minho had set off the fire alarm (which was conveniently broken within the gym for only God knows how long and why) to draw the infected out of the gym so Seungmin could have time to safely scramble down from his vantage point. 

Jisung was  _ literally  _ running for his life on the football field (which in any other case would have been  _ the  _ sight to see because they all knew that Jisung  _ didn’t  _ exercise and would rather just get an F in physical education than be forced to break a sweat). Seungmin had triggered the home scoreboard from the stadium control room, effectively switching attention to the far gate so Jisung could ascend the steps to the announcer room where everybody was waiting for him. 

Their group of six then made their way to the cafeteria for food supplies and a refill of their water bottles, before turning off the freezer in the kitchen and hiding behind the closed iron door for a while to gather their bearings. They knew the poor ventilation in the freezer could not make this a permanent point of retreat but luckily Jeongin, the freshman they soon learned the name of, talked about how him and his friend used to eat lunch on the rooftop of the chemistry building instead of going to class and that there was a large iron fence blocking the entrance from the stairs but it could be unlocked with a key in the custodial closet while the janitor was off cleaning the bathroom. They had soon found this custodial closet and the key (the door was left wide open as the man most likely abandoned his work) and they made their way up the stairs and onto the roof where they stayed for two long months.

Things were pretty okay; they made the best of their circumstances and grew even close together. Innie (Jeongin) was actually quite sweet and funny and always made them smile on the hard days; Jisung would tell random jokes or elaborate stories to pass the time on the slow days; Minho was a rock to lean on and be quietly comforted by on the mourning days (the loss of Changbin and that freshman the dancers knew had affected them all in their own ways); Hyunjin made their living conditions more comfortable than just being  _ enough  _ on the putrid days; Seungmin was protective and borderline overly cautious, there to stitch them up and triple-check the security of the perimeter on the dangerous days; and Chan… well he was their leader and held the whole thing together every day. They had a nice system, really rounded each other out and were sharp in others’ weaknesses. 

He had assumed that they were the only ones left.

After the first month, the living stragglers far below stopped making the occasional appearance (as horrible as it was, they helped no one. Their hideout was only  _ so  _ big and they could only afford to feed  _ so  _ many mouths… The foolish ones ran and didn’t stand a chance; there was no point going down there to rescue nothing more than a corpse. The smart ones, he hopes at least, had found another safe spot on campus like theirs to take refuge in. Nobody ever came to their roof; they didn’t dare make their presence known to either the dead or the living down on campus. You never know who is already infected. You never know who you could trust. They kept their group secluded and isolated. He coined them the “Stray Kids”). 

Only on the second month, did things quiet down immensely. There weren’t zombies at their doorstep everyday or screams of the living in some other part of campus. They were relatively safe, relatively  _ thriving _ . They just had to wait for the military or the authorities or  _ whoever it was that was trying to contain the situation _ , to find them. They had spent three whole days carving  _ help  _ into the football field; they scanned the skies late at night for a sign of a helicopter or plane or  _ something _ . The important thing was to stay optimistic that help was coming (no matter how much Hyunjin complained otherwise). 

But then the day came where everything turned to shit and Chan watched as his perfect little world crumbled,  _ again. _

Seungmin, Jisung, and him had come back from a simple food run; the two boys arguing up a storm all because Jisung had turned on the power within the front office to see if the intercom worked. Turned out it  _ did  _ work and buzzed to life just a tad bit quicker than Seungmin was with turning the power back off. He was the protective and cautious one, after all; the  _ sensible  _ one. Chan had decided for them all to immediately head back to the hideout before the dead came crawling; they had reached the fence without trouble but the two continued to shout. Seungmin called Jisung an idiot that could have killed them; Jisung attested that if they knew the intercom worked, then they could use it to call out to a car or airplane or helicopter when they heard one. Seungmin had countered with a  _ “If  _ we ever hear one” which then led to the heated debate over the revealing fact the younger didn’t believe that  _ anyone  _ was  _ ever  _ coming to rescue them; if there were really people out there, they would have found them by now, that a  _ school  _ with children  _ of all places  _ would most likely be their  _ first  _ priority. The Morale was low. Spirits were broken. A bitter truth they didn’t want to acknowledge was thrown directly into their faces.

It was a silly little mistake of Jisung to forget to lock the gate when he begrudgingly went to bed that night; it was a silly little mistake of Seungmin to forget to check the security of the perimeter before crying himself to sleep; it was a silly little mistake of Chan to doze off during his watch in the early hours of the morning. 

Silly little mistakes… Any other day with one of these individual mess-ups wouldn’t have been that big of a deal. But  _ this  _ day in particular, it cost Chan  _ everything. _

The dead surrounded them, pushing on the door of the fence as everyone startled awake to the loud creaking of it  _ actually opening _ ; Chan coordinated them to all begin climbing down the emergency rope that led to the second story floor of the building. He held the zombies off as his friends, one by one, escaped to relative safety. He never made it down the rope. He never made a grand getaway with his group to their next hiding place. He never knew if they all made it. He never knew if they realized he  _ didn’t. _

He never saw or heard from them again. And he didn’t dare go looking for them. He had assumed that they were the only ones left; he had assumed that they all eventually died like he did and now wander the campus without a purpose, unsure of who they are or what they want.

He became a zombie, not alive but still walking. There was nothing to cure him so everyday was an exact replica of the other; he wished that he could just stop and close his eyes.

And then the humming started and everything began to change.

  
  
  


He was more curious than hungry as he watched the two girls prance around the rooftop and rifle through what was left of the Stray Kids’s food supply, unaware of why he was feeling a little more conscious of his decisions. He just stared and waited for the inevitable day where their foolish fun and singing would attract  _ too  _ much attention and be their  _ demise.  _ He waited for a slip up or little mistake or just a very  _ desperate and ruthless  _ zombie to rear its ugly head but… three weeks went by without incident and they seemed to be  _ enjoying  _ themselves. And soon the two strange singing girls turned into four and four turned into seven and eventually seven turned into  _ nine  _ and they all lived up on that rooftop and added the occasional lyric to their humming and everything for them seemed to be  _ good  _ under the current circumstances _. _

Chan couldn’t understand it and it wasn’t just the fact that he was a zombie that made it confusing: he felt  _ himself  _ slowly change as the song developed. It was like their singing was  _ taming  _ him and the other dead. The more lyrics their celebratory song of survival gained, the more he began to fall back into his old habits even  _ if  _ he didn’t know  _ why.  _ He started making his way to the fitness room again every morning, as if he was back in school and running on the treadmill with Changbin ready to switch places so Chan could have a chance to pump some weights. Despite not being hungry or even desiring human food, he found himself gravitating to the auditorium around noon where he used to sit with all his friends at their lunch table in the far corner by the theater stage. He would just stand in what used to be his dorm room in the late hours of the night, only half acknowledging his actions before the sunrises and the faint happy singing draws him to the chemistry building once again.

He soon realized that he  _ enjoyed  _ watching them have fun where he and his friends used to spend so many hours together; he  _ enjoyed  _ seeing how close they were and how much hope they had for the world.  _ He enjoys their indirect company and it makes no sense but he stills walks within the hallways of the chemistry building every single day.  _ He never got too close, no, he didn’t want to hurt them by mistake; but if they were to dance past him while fully acknowledging he was there and just  _ not caring that there was only feet between them,  _ he didn’t actively try to move out of the way. 

This was his new schedule, his new routine. He only strayed from it when a particularly  _ pushy  _ zombie got too close to one of the girls and he, being a good undead-samaritan, took it upon himself to either shove the infected away or make a very loud noise to warn them of the danger.

He never tried to talk to them or make eye contact no matter how much the females took notice of his kind and guardian-like presence; they didn’t know his name or how to show appreciation to a zombie, but that was  _ okay  _ because while he didn’t necessarily want anything bad to happen to them, he also wasn’t going to stalk them and keep them from ever making a stupid decision. If they died, they died; yes, it was unfortunate, but everyone he cares about is gone already. He hopes that they will keep each other safe; he hopes that they won’t screw up like Stray Kids did; and, he hopes that they’ll keep singing their song so he can keep feeling like he might have enough control over his actions to actually have a purpose for existing right now.

This more mindful than considerate attitude made up the next month of Chan’s life. He had no plan to change it, no plan to increase interactions with the girl group who he coined as “Twice” (because if they died, he would have had then let down a group in his hideout  _ twice _ ; he would have watched the living scramble and the dead take a loved one,  _ twice.  _ The more he’s with them, the more reasoning skills he develops and he has always kind of liked nicknames so he doesn’t question the sudden idea when it pops in his head; disturbed, yes, ready to question, no) _.  _

But… then  _ he  _ came along.

The boy was about the same height as Chan but much leaner in build and could move with the grace and fluidity of water. He was dead silent on his feet and could maneuver obstacles easily with how flexible and coordinated he was. And he didn’t appear very  _ physically  _ strong so it wasn’t like he was alive this long because he could  _ fight off  _ all the infected; but man, was he fast.  _ So fast;  _ Chan had never seen someone run as quick and quiet and  _ elegant  _ as he did. And he was  _ smart  _ too: learning the patterns of movement as the undead made their rounds around campus, only sneaking about when the zombies’ paths diverged from the particular area he wished to pass upon. He made traps and tricks too; had even fooled the  _ Twice  _ girls a few times by mistake without realizing it (Chan only knew because he was trailing behind them more often than not). Chan wasn’t sure where the boy stayed at night or if he called anywhere a hideout  _ at all _ ; he never got far following the teen because while  _ Twice  _ disregarded his presence, didn’t notice it, or directly asked him if he would be nice and  _ join  _ them for lunch (and then laugh when he would scamper off because he was  _ “shy” _ and caught off guard by their ease around him), the boy seemed to sense he was being trailed and would dart so fast in practiced directions that Chan would get so turned around and lost that he would lose sight of him for the rest of the day. 

Chan chooses to stay at the top of the chem building (as part of his routine now), by the fence but not enough to be fully acknowledged, and just stare down below until he sees the familiar mop of long fluffy blonde hair and form of an excellent dancer emerge from the shadows and scour the student store for snacks. And then he’s off to go observe this newcomer out of pure curiosity, of course; it’s not every day that he finds a living being roaming the campus that isn’t one of the nine singing girls. Where did the boy come from? Has he been here this whole time? Is he alone? How come Chan has never noticed him before? Does he know about what happened to Stray Kids and if they are okay? Has he seen them? Is he  _ staying  _ with them?

So many questions and so little answers. Chan hasn’t even got more than two steps down the same hallway as him before the boy practically vanishes into thin air. 

He isn’t sure if Twice fully knows that the boy exists; he never leaves any evidence of his presence and his traps have always been brushed off by the girls as leftover from when the other survivors were still around (it makes Chan sad to think that him and his friends used to be those  _ other survivors… _ ). But he knows for sure that the boy is aware of Twice: he keeps his distance but their presence is unmistakable as their tune drifts through the otherwise deafening silence of JYP High School. He has stolen food from them a couple of times, too (Chan isn’t sure how they didn’t notice), and even hangs out on top of the same bus as them in the parking lot (they were quite oblivious with all their singing and dancing, the zombie supposes). 

And it isn’t until the second week of trying to track down this intriguing stranger that he realizes that the boy  _ is  _ completely and utterly alone.

Chan had just finished his daily walk through the fitness room while Twice was finishing up their now almost fully completed song when they all heard the distinct sound of something heavy clattering to the ground. The girls had halted their dancing to trace the source of the noise, rounding the corner of the weight room to discover the boy on the ground next to a fallen treadmill. See, Chan may have set a trap himself: very slowly, he might add, he moved the two treadmills to the entrance door, having them very delicately propped up against each other and the doorway in an almost X-shape. The boy always used this door to get to the bottles of water stored in the dance room and so, if he were in a need to restock his supply, he would either have to knock one over or climb through the small openings in the top corners or through the center (all of which would be nearly impossible because the slightest of touch on the treadmills would make them fall). He wasn’t  _ trying  _ to get the boy mauled, you see (he is not a malicious zombie); he knows that the boy comes here every three days and he knew that Twice would be right around the corner to help him if the worse came to be (he really just wanted to introduce them so that he can finally discover  _ who  _ this boy is). 

“Oh my, you poor thing!” Sana says as she rushes over to help the boy up, even as his eyes go wide and hands begin to shake beneath him (okay so maybe Chan feels a  _ little  _ bad now… Zombie brains aren’t the smartest, alright? He  _ just  _ started getting common sense back; give him a break). “I'm so sorry; I have no idea why these were put here.”

The boy shakes his head, standing with her assistance and now Chan casually creeps into the corner of the room to get a good look at him. But what he sees makes a funny taste coat his tongue and he’s sure that if he was human, he would have thrown up.

This boy was the freshman he had to abandon to the undead when he and his friends were running for their life; he, also, sees that this boy was the exchange student from Australia he had met during the seminar at the very beginning of the school year. He was never given a name, but he remembers the poor Korean and thick accent (his memory must be getting better as well because last week he couldn’t remember his mother’s name; much of life before senior year was fuzzy. Did this kid really have that big of an impact on him?). Grant it, the boy has changed a  _ lot  _ since Chan last saw him: their first meeting he was clearly wearing concealer because Chan is met now with a face full of freckles. The soft brown of their eyes isn’t as sparkly as Chan remembers though (which makes  _ sense _ after everything they’ve been through), and their jawline and fit physique was much more defined (gone with the baby fat to reveal very  _ pretty  _ features and no he is not  _ gaping _ ); they also seemed to have had time to bleach dye their hair between the seminar and the apocalypse too. Chan didn’t have time to focus on faces when his priority was rescuing Hyunjin and Minho; they had all mutually agreed that they had to continue forward without the straggler and the boy seemed to understand it  _ too  _ when he had swallowed and nodded to Jeongin to leave him. They had all assumed he was a zombie but here he was:  _ alive and thriving on his own when the rest of them didn’t _ . He hadn’t needed them; he never sought them out; he worried about  _ himself _ (they should have looked for him, should have tried to confirm that he was  _ really  _ gone... The guilt is snaking up his throat). The pink cupid bow of his lips are chapped and under abuse from gnawing teeth when Jihyo asks, “Who are you?”

“F-Felix,” the boy says with a nervous glance out the door and past the collapsed treadmills, “I’m Felix.” 

The deep baritone of his voice catches Chan by surprise even if it’s the  _ second  _ time he has heard it, the appearance of the boy not matching his pitch at  _ all.  _ But it is truly mesmerizing and if Chan actually  _ needed  _ to breathe, he would probably have gasped in awe. 

“I’m Momo,” another member of Twice replies with a warm smile as she comes forward and shakes Felix’s hand, the boy only flinches slightly. Her smile falls and she hesitantly takes a step back.

“Uh- Sorry,” Felix mumbled, sheepishly scratching the back of his head, “It has been awhile since I’ve um… had human contact, you know? I swear it’s nothing against you but I’m just- I’m just…”

“Hey, relax; you’re safe with us, I promise,” Nayeon said, “The zombies don’t usually come around us.”

Felix’s brow furrows. “I see the undead swarming you all the time.”

“Oh! That’s because there is a difference between the undead and the zombies.” Mina nods her head enthusiastically and points (much to Chan’s displeasure) right at his hiding spot. “See this dude right here is dead, yes, but he’s not a selfish brain-eating loser like the others. He’s actually quite nice and keeps the others away. We let him hang around and he has never done anything questionable so we don’t consider him a zombie. Well, unless, did you move the treadmills, mister? That wasn’t very nice of you, don’t you think?”

Felix stares at him warily, both in shock and disbelief that an infected like Chan is literally standing  _ right there  _ and  _ nobody  _ is going to do a thing about it. 

Chan is so frickin embarrassed; this is not how he wanted things to go down at all! What is he supposed to do now? Felix and Twice are all looking and he’s just looking back like a total brainless idiot. Don’t make eye contact was one of his rules but now he’s locking eyes with Felix and he just can’t look away! His dead head can’t focus on doing anything else! They are just so  _ cute  _ and  _ pretty  _ and will he start singing and dancing with Twice too? Wouldn’t that be great? Maybe he could get to know Felix a little more and- and… then what? This is stupid. He’s dead: what exactly is he hoping to accomplish?

“Mina, you're making him nervous!” Sana scolds her friend as she juts her lip at Chan, “Look: he’s so ashamed and flustered he can barely grunt! I’m sure he just wanted a reason to meet Felix, huh? You wanted to make friends?”

_ I hate all of you _ , he thinks (wait- he  _ thinks?! _ Since when could he have subconscious thoughts?!) as he confirms that he feels thoroughly humiliated and makes the decision to stumble far away from here.

“Ah man, you freaked him out Sana.”

“What? But I was just-”

“He’s just shy, Felix; you’ll see him again for sure if you stick with us.”

“And he’s… not going to eat me?”

The girls giggled and Chan felt a bizarre jolt in his chest as he heard just before leaving the building, “Definitely not; if anything, I think he likes you.”


	2. Give Me Your Hand Now So That I Can Melt the Chain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even in death, Chan is much too cowardly to make the first move; the smart idea would be to retreat now while he still has a wee bit of dignity intact. Because this is stupid, so stupid; even the dead could see it! But as he’s turning around with a stormy flush painting his ears, he is halted in his tracks by the casually uttered phrase, “Why do you do that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the love and support on the last chapter; it means a lot to me:) I hope you enjoy this one!  
> Things to Note:  
> -Bold italics are words in English  
> -Chan can't form whole words yet because he is supposed to gradually become more human like as the story progresses  
> -The titles of the chapters are lyrics from Burn It by Golden Child  
> -I added a fifth chapter instead of the original four because I wanted a fluffy epilogue;)

The next few weeks go by relatively normal; well, with the exception of Chan becoming a phantom figure in the back of _all_ Twice interactions. He went from spending about four hours a day around them to spending anywhere from _six to seven_ ; and that was, of course, _not_ including the time he spent following Felix around. 

The boy met up with Twice as part of his routine now, only spending less than three hours with them on rare instances, but refused to just permanently move in with them (he had said that he didn’t want to intrude or be a bother; that a male could interrupt their dynamics; that he eats a lot; that he’s loud and clingy and annoying; that he cries sometimes in his sleep; that he may accidentally cuddle a person; that he’s not great at singing; that he gets nervous in groups of people; that he’s more of a coward than a hero… in conclusion, Felix made _lots_ of excuses and the girls knew better than to pressure him on the matter). He returns to wherever he usually stays before the sun sets every day and if he felt Chan’s eyes follow his movements until he disappeared out of the Chemistry building, he never acted overly uncomfortable until after he left. 

The first couple of visits had been horribly awkward, if Chan was being honest: Felix would just sit with them on their fenced-off rooftop and politely listen, never really talking other than to answer the occasional question. He would nod his head and give tight-lipped smiles, clearly tense but willing to be polite. Felix didn’t understand Twice’s positivity and optimism, finding them strange but relatively pleasant to be around even if he winced at every loud bubbly laugh or animated shout (much like Chan used to). It was clear that the apocalypse had shaped Felix into a cautious hermit; so many months in utter silence with nothing but himself as company had made him hesitant to be among people and unaccustomed to the concept of actually _telling living things_ how his day was. He wasn’t the outgoing and friendly figure standing out in the crowd like Chan remembered seeing at the seminar; that could always change though, and the zombie was definitely not complaining that Felix was more wary than the girls because that meant less of a beatless heart attack every time the group decided to do something too careless and stupid.

But as the days passed with no incident and just casual conversations and fun moments together, Felix’s hard-shell slowly cracked open to reveal more and more of himself. There was a time when the girls gushed about cookies (Chan’s personal favorite was chocolate chip but they never asked) and Felix had shyly admitted to being somewhat of a baker before the world was turned upside down and that made everyone _so_ excited that they started calling him their “master chef” and his cheeks had turned a sweet shade of pink and a toothy grin slipped onto his bitten-red lips (and they _all_ giggled when a loud huff was heard from the dead guy residing on the opposite side of the fence because man was Felix’s crescent eyes and slight overbite _adorable_ . But it wasn’t until he noticed that the boy’s small hand was hovering over his own mouth to suppress mirthful noises _too_ that Chan decided to flee back down the stairs before his eyes bugged out of his head from too much contained steam).

A different day, the topic of just _how_ good Felix was at dancing arose since the after school club only accepted the _best_ and almost _never_ consisted of freshmen because, according to Hyunjin, _“Freshmen were too immature and egotistical to handle the weight of constructive criticism and pressure of performing such precise and artistic moves”_ (he was always one for dramatics and was harder on the new members than Minho; his heart was big though and it opened to Felix’s eager to learn and positive attitude quite quickly. It seems that Felix had wormed his way into most hearts after just a couple of meetings; Twice was no exception). The boy had humbly brushed it off, saying that he was just lucky that his upperclassmen were willing to work with him despite his limited Korean and experience. But Sana didn’t believe him and so started the singing shenanigans that eventually led to Felix showing them _all_ up on their _own_ choreographies; turns out he was a quick learner and could pick up moves after only a couple of times watching (he may have thrown in a few fortnight dances at the end to celebrate his victory and girls may or may not have cooed as Chan pawed at the tear in his jeans to distract himself from the simultaneously endearing and cringe-worthy display. Nothing Felix did could ever be considered completely cringey, after all). 

One of the most memorable moments was when the girls had jokingly asked Felix what his ideal type was and his reply was a wide-O for a mouth as he asked in all honesty, “Boy or girl?” Brows had raised, not used to such a forthright reply from a Korean young man still learning about himself and the world, but they soon smiled and demanded an explanation for both. Chan was glad that he was dead when the boy mentioned having a crush on a mysterious hunk that had come into the café (where he used to work) at six every morning for their special protein-packed smoothies; if he was not, he would have probably said a lot more than a scoffing grunt by how suspiciously similar this _crush_ sounded to Changbin (if only he had went with his roommate every now and then; he could have gotten to know the delightful Aussie a lot sooner). His reply regarding his ideal girl was along the lines of thinking that they were all beautiful and perfect in their own way and he wouldn’t want them to change: if they stayed true to themselves, they’d catch his attention (and Twice had cursed the world for preventing the obtainment of adoption papers for the quote-on-quote _cinnamon roll_ right then and there). 

But while Chan has successfully gathered information about Felix through his friendly interactions with Twice, he has yet to gain any ground between himself and Felix in particular. 

He thought that seeing it all from a third person perspective would be enough when his initial plan was put into action; now, he realizes that it most certainly hasn’t satisfied his hunger (not for flesh, of course; _just social interactions_ . He was a people’s-person in his past life; now he’s a people's-zombie). He always got his feathers ruffled when Twice teased him or called him out and he would never stick around but with Felix, he wanted the boy to feel comfortable around him _too_ . He wants Felix to be himself and to sing and dance and laugh and joke and tease and reminisce with him present; but he doesn’t like to be watched by Chan and he tries so hard to pretend that he doesn’t notice the zombie that he makes it obvious that he _most certainly does._

Chan always sees him out when he takes his leave from the rooftop (he doesn’t want the boy to get hurt literally a-flight-of-stairs-away from help; wouldn’t that be unfortunate?) and he always wanders the quad at around eleven in the morning to make sure Felix gets there without any trouble. 

Two times, he has tried to follow Felix all the way home but, once again, he is _fast_ and Chan is a _zombie_ and he's known for limping and going in very _simple_ directions. He loses the boy as soon the main office is crossed which, realistically, wasn't very far and he would just sigh in defeat and trudge around campus in a pout (a simple _goodbye_ would be enough; but Felix never talks to poor undead Chan). 

Today, though, Chan follows Felix a third time. 

The boy had excitedly joined Twice after sifting through what was left in the dorm rooms, climbing the stairs three at a time with a wide smile that almost made Chan fall off the roof as he steered clear of Felix's bustling movements. They had opened the fence curiously while the undead that were following him slowly gathered outside of it, making it a little difficult for Chan to see what all the commotion was about. 

He finally makes it to the front just in time to see what Felix was waving triumphantly through the air.

"I found a **_TimTam_**!" 

Chan stares in fascination. A TimTam? Where would he find one of those? Other than Felix, Chan was the only other Australian at school and he has always had his mom send them to him in the mail every Christmas because they were so hard to find and-

"I found them in a box under a bed. Isn't that great? I haven't had one of these in more than a year! Who would have thought that an apocalypse would reunite me with my favorite snack, right?"

So Felix _did_ find his TimTam stash… Well, if it makes him happy, he's willing to part with them (it's not like _he_ would be eating them anytime soon anyways…)

"What… is that, Felix? A candy bar or something?" Momo had questioned, plopping down next to him on the pillowed ground. 

"They are an Australian _cookie_! Chris-hyung had never talked about them before?"

Sana's head had tilted as she jumped down from the lookout crate. " **_Chris_ ** ? We had a **_Chris_ **?"

Felix had given them a frown, his brow furrowed, "Yeah, **_Christopher Bang_ **; he was like the only other Aussie in this entire school."

"Oh! Bang Chan; you're talking about Bang Chan, right Yongbokkie?" Nayeon had excitedly clarified, “Mr. Swim-team Captain? Student Council groupie?”

Chan had felt awfully funny when Felix had nodded his head and exclaimed, “Yes! That’s him! He was the exchange student coordinator too… I met him at the- the seminar at the beginning of the year…” A look of melancholy had crossed his caramel doe-eyes for a second, gaze drifting to the treat in his hand, “This is… kind of stealing, isn’t it..?”

The girls had fallen silent, sensing the sudden shift of Felix’s mood and unsure of exactly how to comfort him.

Sana had offered, “Finder's keeper's. If they were that important, he wouldn't have left them."

But the boy's frown had only deepened from the response. "But what if he.. comes back for them? What if he was just out getting water when I-"

“Yongbokkie,” Chaeyong had said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Chan is gone. We’re the only ones left; you know that-”

Felix had stomped his foot, brow furrowed as he cried angrily, “He isn’t gone!”

Sana had frowned. “And how do you know?”

“I just-” he had faltered and Chan’s postmortem heart broke even further, “I just do!”

Jeongyeon had sighed, face twisting with pity as her lips pursed. “He’s never coming back, Felix-ah. I know it’s hard to accept when your friends are-”

“ _N-No_!” The boy had choked out, pulling away from Chaeyong and the others with pain in his eyes, “They all escaped with Chan-hyung; I saw it with my own eyes! Minho, Jeonginnie, Hyunjin- T-They all talked about finding the others and I know Hyung accomplished just t-that! He wouldn’t have left any of them behind; he cares about his friends! They are alive, I know- I know they are..!”

The zombie had slumped in on himself, feeling, once again, ashamed for leaving Felix in that hallway all those months ago and for letting his friends down. He was supposed to be their leader and he couldn’t even make sure that their gate was locked? He didn’t deserve the trust Felix put in him to get their friends to safety; he doesn’t deserve the faith Felix is pouring into him now for crying out loud. He’s dead; the rest of Stray Kids probably are too. He’s nothing but a rotting failure.

Carefully, Mina had asked, “How do you… think this roof got like this?”

The boy had stopped to consider her words, looking around once before meeting her eyes in sudden hesitance. 

“Because we certainly didn’t find this place first: we lived in a classroom the first two months,” Nayeon had added; all of Twice then looked at Felix expectantly.

“W-What are you implying, Noona? That they- they all lived here and-”

“Something must have gone wrong.” Sana had put her arm around his shoulders, guiding him back down to sit with them, “Everybody’s gone; we only got each other now. But I think- I think you knew that already… didn’t you?”

The boy had nibbled on his bottom lip to the point of pain, face screwed up like he was trying his best to hold back tears. But while his features had quaked, the urge to cry eventually faded into that of a hollow expression with a single heavy exhale. Voice in merely a whisper, he had said, “I had hoped I was wrong.”

And Twice had all pulled him into a group hug then, every single one of them relating to the feeling of loss and bitter acceptance; whispers along the lines of “Us too” had drifted through the air and the day quickly transformed from one of discovery and excitement to that of grief and wistfulness.

It didn’t take long for the sun to hang low in the sky and for Felix to squirm free of his companions to begin his trek back home. It saddened Chan: to see Felix’s spirits so crush and sullen. Because, after all, Chan wasn’t _really_ gone: he was right here. He wasn’t alive, but he could still walk and interact and listen and he was still _here_ and that has to be _enough_ ; if only Felix could see that this considerate zombie constantly accompanying the living was in fact the Hyung he so praised (and probably now cursed for letting all of his friend die…)

And it’s this exact sentiment that pushes the dead young man to attempt his third time of following Felix (if they could just _talk_ ; if he could just _look_ at him, he would see- they would _all_ see). 

But one empty room and two vacant hallways later, Chan is starting to realize just how _bogus_ of an idea this was: what would he actually do if Felix began conversing with him? It’s not like he could actually reply; it’s not like Felix will see him as anything more than the mindless creature he is. He feels silly that he’s really trying to follow the boy again; he’s probably going to freak him out. 

Who is he kidding? Even in death, Chan is much too cowardly to make the first move; the smart idea would be to retreat now while he still has a wee bit of dignity intact. Because this is stupid, so stupid; even the dead could see it! But as he’s turning around with a stormy flush painting his ears, he is halted in his tracks by the casually uttered phrase, “Why do you do that?”

Hesitantly, Chan turns back around to the pretty boy now facing him with skepticism in his shining brown eyes. His arms are crossed over his chest and his blonde hair frames his forehead messily from the constant raking through it with a hand. All the zombie can do is stare back (he really didn’t think this through, did he?)

“Follow me, I mean,” Felix adds as if such a further explanation would elicit a response. 

Chan plays with the tear in his shirt.

“Did you want something from me?”

He looks at the hole in his worn out shoes; can one feel underdressed in the apocalypse? Chan kind of feels like a hobo compared to Felix.

“I’m sorry but I’m not in the mood to sing and dance right now; I know some of you are tame and (f-friends? Acquaintances?)... with Twice b-but I’m not like them.” Felix gives a subtle wince, tacking on with a frantic slur, “Not that I’m saying that some of you a-are untamed or like animals- Because you’re not animals, no- Well I mean all people are technically animals- No, wait, I’m an animal, yup, I’m literally like a sitting duck for something to just charge at me and- Not that I’m assuming you will! Something else, a different zombie- Shit, wait, I’m not calling you a zombie; I’m sure you were a very nice young man and- ARE, are, I meant are…” Felix’s face is screwed up in anticipation and nerves, body tilting back ever so slightly like he was waiting for the first sign of movement before deciding to book it down the hall. “Please don’t eat me…”

Chan just huffed loudly in both amusement and disappointment in himself for scaring the boy. Eat him? Does he really look that dead and hungry? In any other circumstance, he would have been offended but he supposes that standing at the end of the hallways and corners of rooms eclipsed in shadows doing nothing other than watching Felix could be a valid reason for suspicion and apprehension. But in _his_ defense, it’s not like there’s a _How to_ guide lying around for winning your crushes still-beating heart (although Chan really only stared at his crushes in a whipped haze while he was alive too… but he’ll ignore that little tibet). 

He shuffles his feet momentarily, having a vague feeling that he was going to have to turn around and pretend like nothing happened when Felix inevitably runs away. But then he’s meeting the boy’s eyes again and sees the fear has simmered down into a mild wariness; curiosity was the dominant emotion at the moment. 

Felix asks with a sudden glint to his caramel irises, “You’re that undead from the fitness room, right? The one that moved the treadmills?”

The zombie hunches slightly, avoiding the inquiring gaze as he releases a flustered groan; Twice really messed up that initial greeting, didn’t they? He will forever be remembered as the treadmill zombie: definitely not the ideal first meeting he imagined all those days spent wandering amongst the ghastly gloom in search of a familiar freckled face but ultimately proving to be unsuccessful. He had spent so many nights meandering the dorms with an active mind reminiscing the day he showed the exchange students where they will be staying and just how bright of a smile Felix had flashed when he said that if they ever needed anything, he would be just a staircase away; he had watched over Felix every afternoon with something resembling a shy smile, hoping to one day have the boy trek excitedly to see him as well but now he’s here: Felix questioning his method of flirting and referring to him as the “treadmill zombie”. Wonderful.

“Is it true that you wanted us to be friends or were they just messing with you?”

He blinks slowly, poking at the flaking white paint on the wall.

Felix sighs, a wry smile pulling on his lips as he mutters to himself, “What am I doing? I don’t even know if you can understand a single thing I’m saying…”

Chan immediately whines and stumbles a few steps forward, giving up his coy demeanor before Felix considers him some uncivilized creature incapable of holding a conversation (he can understand words, he swears! He’s just… working on getting his tongue to form them as replies, okay? He’s trying his best under the current circumstances!)

Felix jumps and eyes him cautiously and Chan freezes his movements to give him a small pout (too much advancement, Chan, way to go: you freaked him out again).

“You do… know what I’m saying?”

The zombie grunts, tapping his mouth lazily with his hand (he doesn’t really know why but he just felt like that could get his point across; luckily, Felix seemed to get the message and now genuinely smiled).

“I had a feeling you weren’t like the others,” the boy says after a moment's pause, studying Chan’s face with a squint to his lids, “But you can never be too careful, you know? I figured if you were going to kill me, you would have done it by now…”

Chan squirms, a scoffing “Muhh?” leaving his mouth at Felix’s admission; could Felix actually learn to trust him? Is this really happening?

The boy snorts before tilting his head subtly, “Sorry, I’m kind of dumb; I won’t doubt what Twice says again. They call you their undead guardian angel; I thought they were joking but you are always observing every one’s well being, yeah?”

He bashfully flicks his knee a few times; an undead angel, huh? He could get used to a title like that. Although, he doesn’t like Felix thinking that he is dumb just for being careful; if anything, Twice could use some of the boy’s cautiousness, if he’s being honest.

“Were you… like that while you were alive too? Being a good Hyung?” 

Chan’s hanging jaw clicks with the force of its shut, uncomfortableness seeping in with the reminder that he was very much _dead_ here _because_ of his protecting nature. _I was a good Hyung, just not good enough…_

“Sorry, I-” Felix falters, his lips pursing like he was scolding himself, “I shouldn’t have pried. Um you… You look very familiar, now that I think about it. I figured you were- are an upperclassman here..?”

Chan’s throat makes a strange buzzing noise; would Felix recognize him? He hasn’t heard someone call him by his name in a very long time… It seems nice; what would he do if people began to treat him a little more human? 

“I’m a freshman… Or, actually, probably a sophomore by now. Maybe I used to see you around school before- before… well, _everything_.”

Felix seemed awkward and downcast now; how can Chan assure him? How can he prove who he is? The sun is going down quickly so he must think fast before Felix is stuck out in the open surrounded by the not-so-friendly zombies swarming the campus.

“Hmgh,” Chan chuffs as he begins dragging himself to the nearest classroom. Felix just watches, probably assuming that the zombie was tired of his company (or maybe forgot what he was doing?). 

But the zombie stops and looks back expectantly. He waits for him and Felix stares. The boy’s eyes go wide, “O-Oh, you want me to come with you? I’m- I’m sorry I don’t know if I should; I should probably head back to my place… It’s getting dark and I don’t like being out at night…”

Chan pokes out his bottom lip with a soft whimper, nudging the door with the toe of his good shoe. 

  
  


Felix frowns. “Aw don’t act like that: you’re making me feel bad. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Chan pouts even more, huffing and scraping his blunt nails against the wood in some sort of a temper tantrum. Why does he have to go already? They just started talking! Chan will protect him; he will keep him safe from the creatures of the night and in return Felix could keep him company. He just wants to get to know him better and finally show _who_ he was, _who_ he is.

“Fine, fine; ten minutes. I’ll stay ten more minutes.”

The zombie perks up and scrambles into the classroom with a “Aah.”

Felix sighs but follows him in (was he annoying him? Was he tired? Has Chan ruined things already?), taking a peek at the ends of the hall before pulling the door mostly closed behind them. Chan wanders to the wall as Felix stands warily in the center of the classroom, eyes glued to the window, the door leading to the computer lab, and the ajar entrance in case he had to make a quick escape. Sure, Chan may feel a _little_ offended that the boy doesn’t trust being in a room alone with him but, once again, he _is_ a zombie and they have only _just_ met (with this face at least). 

The zombie feels the intensity of Felix’s gaze slowly drift to the back of his head now, making him shuffle face-first into the wall and press his forehead to the large map (a hand would do but now he felt shy and wanted to escape the penetrating eyes, even if that meant looking like a brainless idiot). 

There’s a small and slightly nervous chuckle from Felix. “The map? Are you pointing at Korea?”

Chan pulls away a bit, noticing that his head was resting smack dab on South Korea (ah yes, yes… he totally meant to do that). “ **_Aush_ **,” he muttered bashfully as his hand brushed the continent he was meaning to show Felix all along, eyes darting to his with a flicker of hope. 

“Ah, Australia? That was where I-”

“ **_Hom_ **.”

The boy blinked, brow furrowing in confusion. His feet seemed to propel him closer to Chan with an imploring part to his cupid bow lips and the zombie found himself wanting to shrink even more under the sudden attention (would Felix understand? Does he know what he’s trying to say? Would he look at Chan differently now?). 

Felix only stopped when there was merely five feet between them, searching Chan’s face for any sign of humor or unrecognition. “Did you- Did you really say what I think you did?”

Chan looks back at the map, tapping it with his sickly gray palm, “ **_Hom_ **.”

There is a deafening silence that eclipses the room then, and the zombie can only worry that he messed something up. He doesn’t want to look at Felix for fear of what he might see in those wide caramel-colored orbs; but, he also doesn’t want to pull away and retreat in case of the slim chance that Felix actually gets what he’s trying to demonstrate through the simple, mispronounced English word and childish pawing. 

But the quiet lapses on with little regard to Chan’s ever growing anxious state and he just stares at the map: he stares at his home and his country and his people and the wall of his freshman classroom and the dim reflection of his ghastly flesh off of the dingy whiteboard eraser tray. And he only hears nothing so he begins to wonder if Felix is holding his breath out of shock or horror or confusion or pity or all the above.

And then, to only assuage his nerves over having to guard a passed-out body, there’s a sniffle that emanates not far behind him and he’s positive that if he still had a body capable of knee-jerk reactions, he would have jumped.

He would have looked back to know for sure if Felix was crying but a small, lissome tan hand creeps into view out of the corner of his eye. And it settles upon the map, just a few inches away from Chan’s (they could not touch; the smallest of contact with the undead could transfer the pathogen almost immediately and there would be nothing to stop it from secreting straight into the boy’s skin to become a zombie for the rest of his days), as Felix stands at his side with glassy orbs staring at it in wonder.

“ **_Home_ **.” It’s a whisper, so soft and uttered with the delicacy of a feather despite the tension thick enough to cut that it drifted through. And maybe it was the familiar use of English or the distinct Australian twang hanging on the word, but Chan felt a strange sizzling in the pit of his stomach. Felix’s accent was always so pleasing to hear: making an odd sense of comfort swell within him because they shared this same motherland, shared this same dream of moving to Korea and going to school and starting a new life. He would have been able to relate to Felix like no other; would have never found a better shoulder to lean on when he was homesick… If only he hadn’t abandoned the boy that day...

Nonetheless, Chan grunts in satisfaction at the realization that _yeah, he really just almost spoke a real word in a language he hasn’t used since months before the whole apocalypse._ He was getting better, gaining more _humanity_ , everyday; it was exhilarating. 

He doesn’t have time to celebrate though as a heartbroken, “ **_Chris_ ** _.._ ?” escapes Felix’s lips and then he can see the tears and can feel the jitters and he has _so much_ he wants to say, so much he _needs_ to say but there is a sudden noise sounding through the (what should be very empty) hall and their little moment is over like a flip of a switch. 

Chan drags himself to the door with a snarl (of course being careful to avoid Felix) and catches the sight of long shadows stretching across the grimey marble floors, accompanied by the hisses and groans of the dead as they make their rounds to the only places with lingering traces of warm blood on campus. 

He looks back to warn Felix but the boy clearly hadn’t waited for a goodbye; his presence had practically vanished into their surroundings with only the now open computer lab door as a sign of his leaving. Chan cursed the heavens for the inopportune timing of it all (and maybe a little bit at Felix for being so alert and quick on his feet) but had the right mind to leave the classroom and close the door behind him to at least give Felix more of a head-start (there was no way the zombie would be able to try and catch up to him, after all; he just prays that Felix makes it back safe as he usually does in fate’s smug demonstration that he doesn’t _need_ protecting or really _Chan_ either, for that matter).

He glares at his sluggish undead brethren before blowing out a dampening sigh; the sun will always rise tomorrow. For now, he’ll just hover near Twice and wait for the day to pass by until Felix returns. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a little more light angst... But the next chap should hopefully be 95% fluff :)

**Author's Note:**

> Zombie Chan is a cute little cinnamon roll and no one can tell me otherwise. As you can see, it's kind of a slow burn because Twice doesn't cure the apocalypse immediately :)
> 
> Thanks for Reading!


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